The England players, who participated in the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), are likely to be rested for the two-match Test series against New Zealand, starting June 2 at Lord’s London.
According to a report in BBC, England cricketers, who featured in IPL 2021 before the tournament was postponed, will not be a part of the Three Lions in the Test series as the management wants these cricketers to give some break.
Significantly, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, and Jonny Bairstow all played at least a game in the postponed IPL. All these players are now serving the mandatory 10-day isolation after returning to their home in UK.
Earlier this week, Ashley Giles, the managing director of the England men’s team, had hinted that there could be some new faces in the England squad for the upcoming series against the Kiwis.
“What we do know and what’s not going to change is that given the weight of cricket, given the Ashes series, and we don’t know what conditions that’s going to be played in with regard to a Covid environment, we are going to need a bigger group of players. We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Giles as saying.
After New Zealand, England will face India in a five-match Test series, beginning this August.